Federal Government Settles Terminally Ill Veteran’s Burn Pit Medical Malpractice Lawsuit for $3M

A Vermont federal judge recently approved a $3-million settlement for a veteran suffering from terminal colon cancer in what has been coined a “1st-of-its-kind lawsuit.” The veteran alleged that the healthcare providers to whom he entrusted his care at the White River Junction VA Medical Center committed malpractice by failing to take into consideration his exposure to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan during his military service when assessing and evaluating his symptoms. The veteran claimed that this act of malpractice caused his colon cancer to progress and worsen from curable to terminal over the 4-years it went undiagnosed. The settlement came after the federal government sought to have the case dismissed on the basis that the administrative claim was not timely filed by the veteran. The federal government argued that the veteran should have known he was the victim of malpractice on the date he was diagnosed with advanced-stage colon cancer, which was more than 2-years before he filed his administrative claim. The veteran responded by arguing that he could not have been aware of the malpractice committed before he learned the critical fact that burn pit exposure causes cancer. A Vermont federal judge agreed with the veteran and denied the motion the dismiss, noting that the veteran’s argument was: